Musing on the Life of "Paper Dolls"

This coming Saturday night, we'll be celebrating a little horror film we made back in '06 called Paper Dolls. For the first time ever, it will be available to stream LIVE here at www.badfritterfilms.com. Until now, the only way to see this elusive film was during its successful run on the festival circuit in '08 and '09, or if you happened to know the filmmakers, of course (but chances of getting a copy from us were slim as every one that landed in our hands was quickly eaten by our mailboxes and on its way to possible distributors or sales agents). So now, nearly 5 years after its completion, Paper Dolls is finally getting the life it deserves: a world-wide audience.

While of our 3 films Paper Dolls has seen the widest audience, it still remains relatively obscure in the world of independent horror films. A distribution deal has evaded us, and self-distribution, while a viable option and still on the table, takes more money, money we don't presently have. I remember thinking, due to how fast everything moved after Roulette that Paper Dolls was just the next small step on the fast-track to my inevitable (and greatly wished for) career in the film industry. But after the reality of how "the biz" actually works set in and us without a distribution deal and nobody shoving money in our pockets to make our next big one, disillusionment pried my eyes open and cast a shadow across my destiny. I was proud, of course, to be the co-writer and co-director of a multiple-award winning film, but for me, getting Paper Dolls to a global audience (and--not gonna lie--reaping a little financial reward) was the ultimate goal then. That was the sign of success; if Paper Dolls never found distribution and didn't immediately lead to our next project, we failed.

This didn’t stop us from making more movies. In ’09 we shot several pieces pertaining to our horror epic The Madness, and in 2010 shot Cliff Lake. Of course, these were made on something smaller than a micro-budget, but were nonetheless legitimate projects that sharpened our storytelling and filmmaking skills. The point is that we kept working. We didn’t let the fact that Paper Dolls’ progress seemed inert stop us, nor did we give up hope that it would eventually get picked up by some company for distribution and find a new life. I’d be lying, though, if I said I didn’t think (and, on darker days, still DO think) Paper Dolls might never be given the life we expected it to have. But how often do our expectations ever really match our reality?

I am excited and proud to be given the opportunity to finally share Paper Dolls on this scale. For three days, it will be available to everyone. All those emails from curious horror film fans, all those messages requesting the film, all the questions asking if Paper Dolls was just a practical joke, this event is for those people. On behalf of my BadFritter band mates, we truly hope you enjoy what you see and that the wait was well worth it. Thank you for hanging on and keeping curious. It is your breath giving life back to our little horror film.

Thank you.